Significance of the Patanjali Schloka

This invocation is in praise of the sage Patanjali for giving the precise discipline of Yoga for serenity of mind, Sanskrit grammar for purity and precision of speech and Indian medicine for the health of the body against all illnesses.

Patanjali is allegorically referred to as representing mankind, the evolution of time in its thousands of aspects, the (five) gross elements that make up the earth and all-pervading cosmic intelligence. In short Patanjali stands for the whole of creation in time and space. The invocation is therefore in praise of the Creator.